6.23.2008

Lifeforce (1985) - Assorted Moments of Random Cinematic Hotness

StinkyLulu offers the following as my contributionto the monthly FILM CLUB instigated by Final Girl.

Among the many ambiguously (un)resolved mysteries in Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce (1985), that enduring epic yarn about vampires from outerspace set on turning all earthlings into zombie cannibals and possibly instigating a nuclear holocaust, is the one about Mathilda May's two equally naked escorts. You know, the two dudes with carefully obscured genitalia hanging there in the subordinate translucent tubes.

The phallic imagery of these dangling dudes is only amplified when we note that these crystal dildos are pointed toward the giant space sphincter of this mysterious alien ship.We don't really get to see these dildo dudes again, as the narrative quickly fixates on the nubile, neverending nudeness of Mathilda May. But when we do finally get to see the naked dudes again, they're paired on matching exam tables (with kicky, electric blue bumpers, no less!).Then we get our first close up. First, the prettier one on the right...and, then, the craggier on on the left, the one I think is actually Mick Jagger's brother.But, together, they're the Wonder Twins!The sort of pretty pretties you might have brushed up against at Boy Bar circa 1988!But unlike most go-go boys, these ones'll stalk you through the backroom...With their sexy alien vampire gaze...But the thing that gets me about these mysterious nearly naked space dildo boys is this: Mathilda May explains her voluptuous self to Steve Railsback's Colonel Tom (not Major, Colonel - get it) by telling him that she's a manifestation of his deepest thoughts, that she emerged as the embodiment of his deepest fantasy of womanliness. Which gets me to wondering -- from whose deepest fantasies did the naked boys manifest? Sure, the original space crew had a lady or two but, as best as I can tell, that space mission was like 90% guys. So are these naked dudes the embodiments of the deepest erotic fantasies from the minds of those astronauts? Cool. I can go with that. OR are these to be Railsback's "backup" fantasy essences? The extra players who sneak in the "backdoor" of his most private erotic dreams? Nifty. I can go with that too. Alas, the narrative provides no answers to these pressing questions but instead leaves us dangling like those dingleberry space dildos in the opening shot.We do get a brief resolution for the craggier one fairly early one (the one who gets dressed up as a soldier and shares a charged flirtation with the white haired scientist) but it's not until the penultimate moments that we get to see the prettier one again...when he's all windblown and working that disco blue glow again...just before he starts sucking all the life out of London.I guess that's just what very pretty alien vampires are wont to do. Of course, mere moments later, he explodes in a heap of vanquishment and all the prettyboyness is gone from Lifeforce. Forever. And, like much of this film, the fleeting glimpses of random cinematic hotness prove to be something of a disappointment.

For my unedited ramblings on the film, click here.And be sure to muse with the rest of The Final Girl Film Club members here.